Hey gang. It’s been awhile. And I KNOW I owe you all sorts of stuff like a CCMA wrap up and some interviews. They are almost done. But I’ve been pretty much sick since September. Some of it physical illness…some of it mental illness. I’ve never been shy about the fact that I’m clinically depressed and that I’ve named her “Barb”. Well, Barb and I have really been on the outs.

I’m starting to feel a bit better. Last night sure helped! I dragged my city-boy husband, Frank to the Gord Bamford Honky Tonks and Dive Bar Tour. And inspite of himself, even he had a great time.

The show opened with local talent Aaron Starr. When I say local…I mean local. He grew up across the tracks from me in Selkirk, MB. (Yes, Aaron….the noise from your parties carried to the Moody Avenue cul-de-sac. Let’s not mention the free serenades from Chad’s at 4 a.m. But I digress…)

If you haven’t seen him on YouTube as over a million others have, I urge you to. His voice is great, as it in the same vein of Chris Stapleton. And, well, I’m a HUGE Stapleton fan. Aaron did mainly original music but did close his set with an expertly covered rendition of “Broken Halos”. Be sure to check out his socials so you can see where to catch him next.

THEN there was Gord. Can I just say, what a character! I enjoyed every moment of this show. He was entertaining and funny. He played a few new songs mixed in with some classics.

Songs like “Heard You In A Song” had the crowd singing along to every word and when he sang, “Stayed Til Two”, we really got moving! From “Red Dress” to “Farm Girl” he had us all warmed up.

But wait…what was this? He brought out Jojo Mason! One thing to know about Jojo, HE GIVES THE BEST HUGS EVER!!! I was so happy to see him!

He has boundless energy and watching him, it is obvious he loves what he does. He too, had the crowd singing along and dancing, and it was clear he enjoyed every moment. Singing “Good Kinda Love”, his new song “Future” and his first hit “Something To Wrap My Heart Around”, the crowd loved him!

Gord came back out and they sang together which….WAS AWESOME! They obviously have a great time together.

Gord continued with hits like “Drinking Buddy” and “Dive Bar” and then he brought out a young talent named Jade Eagleson.

He sang his new song “Count The Ways” and his big hit “Got Your Name On It”.

Gord came out to join him for a cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” which was fantastic.

The evening wrapped up with a couple more Gord tunes and the band members played a couple of songs. HIS BAND…all of them are highly talented and award winning in their own right. Lisa Dodds is an award winning bassist. Ryan Davidson is an award winning guitarist. His drummer is an award winning drummer. So, it’s a pretty fantastic fricken band.

Gord came out for an encore of “Breakfast Beer” and a HELL of a version (that included a rap section by Jojo Mason) of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” (yes, Dad. My theme song.)

Bar none, this was one of my favourite shows. This small venue was great! It made it more interactive and you felt closer. Well…I was practically ON the stage. So I couldn’t be much closer. LOL!

Gord, Jojo, Jade and Aaron were all sounded great! I couldn’t have asked for a better night out. Well…only maybe that it was earlier. It was past my bedtime, Gord. WAY past.